Martin Tiefenböck, athlete from LG Murnau Staffelsee, conquers the Chiemgauer 100. A run in which the participants have to cover 100 kilometers with an altitude difference of 4700 meters - in one go! You almost didn't make it.
Take a walk in nature, maybe jump into a refreshing lake and then relax on the sofa at home. Sounds like a perfect day when the sun sizzles outside at over 30 degrees. Martin Tiefenböck did all of this, just a little differently, a little more extreme. The athlete from LG Staffelsee Murnau has mastered the Chiemgauer 100. A run in which the participants have to cover 100 kilometers with an altitude difference of 4700 meters - in one go!
Tiefenböck is the first runner of the LG Staffelsee Murnau to have completed an ultra mountain run over 100 kilometers. It was also his first mammoth run of its kind. In 2013 he discovered running for himself, and it became more and more his sport. The Ohlstadt got better. First ten, then 20 kilometers and then the first half marathon. Many athletes are driven by the goal of getting faster and faster. Not so with Tiefenböck, it's different with him. “I never wanted to improve my time,” he emphasizes. He just wanted to keep going, to cover longer distances. So over the years the idea grew to take part in an ultra run. At another event he met an athlete friend who already had experience on these extreme distances. He raved about the Chiemgauer 100, and Tiefenböck was pricked up his ears and was immediately incited. That was what he was looking for.
He started preparing for training, registered - and then it was time. It started at 5 a.m. The 100-kilometer route consists of two loops through the southern Chiemgau, first circling the Rauschberg clockwise (26 km) and then running a long 74-kilometer loop around and on the Hochfelln. The cumulative climbs are around 4700 meters. Large parts run on narrow alpine hiking trails, so that the athletes must be sure-footed and have a head for heights.
The smile disappeared at 47 km.
© Chiemgauer 100
A route that has it all. And then there was the weather. Over 30 degrees, sunshine, not a cloud in the sky. Best bathing weather, not so good for walking 100 kilometers over mountains. "That was brutal," Tiefenböck describes the heat battle on the mountain. And the temperatures plus the incline and descents made him weary. Running became hiking. The anticipation turned into agony. A supply station was set up at kilometer 47. Tiefenböck was finished. “My body said: Give up. My head said: yes and no. “He would have given himself up, buried his dream of the 100 kilometers for the time being. But there was a problem. “I asked the helpers what if I gave up now.” The answer: Tiefenböck would have had to wait three to four hours before he could be picked up.
The 36-year-old soaked his shirt in a river, strengthened himself with drinks and food, and decided to keep trying. At least walk a little further. Until the next refreshment station.
But it went on. Tiefenböck caught himself. Not only did his mind want to go back, so did his body. Hiking turned back to running. The agony turned back to anticipation. He had left a lot of grain and a lot of time on the first 50 kilometers, but he was still on schedule. This stipulated that he should arrive at kilometer 85 before the cut-off time. Tiefenböck undercut the required time by around 45 minutes. 46 minutes later he should have finished the race at this point. The last ascent on the Hochfelln would have failed. “That was the nicest point. My wife was also at the refreshment station at kilometer 85. That was a terrific feeling, ”says Tiefenböck.
And this feeling released the necessary energies for the final ascent. He was exhausted, but then he didn't waste a thought on giving up. But not all problems were out of the way. Things can go fast in the mountains: Thunderstorms followed 30 degrees of sunshine. “I started counting when I heard the thunder after lightning so I knew how far away the storm was. A bad feeling. ”The thunderstorm did not reach the athletes, only the rain. But that is not enough. During the ascent, the Ohlstadt man lost sight of the way. Where? Another runner could give him the answer. Together they covered the final seven kilometers.
Tiefenböck crossed the finish line - and was overwhelmed. “It was an incredible experience how the mind can conquer the body. How to come back again. I'm just happy. ”It took him 17:45:55 hours. The winner, Matthias Krah (LAZ Obernburg Miltenberg), arrived after 12:06:54 hours. Tiefenböck didn't care, he had made the 100 kilometers. He doesn't care how fast. He just wants to walk far.
But initially he doesn't. "Maybe in a few days I'll run three or four kilometers." But other things are first on the list of priorities: going for a walk and relaxing on the coach at home.